I couldn't be happier with how this weekend's batch of chili turned out. My recent variations on the recipe have backed off from my purist approach to adding spiciness though fresh peppers by adding a few more dried spices. This resulted in a more subtle heat that's sort of a roller-coaster ride, rather than being so fiery right from the start, and the use of some chipotle added the smokiness I was hoping to achieve. Good stuff.

Wallshadows wrote on Mar 5, 2012, 22:55:The Mayans never accounted for leap years and if we were to remove all the leap years since Caesar created them, our date today would be somewhere in 2013 and the world should have ended several months ago.

Oops.

Saw this a dozen times as a meme on facebook today. Not once on G+ though.I'm sure it originates somewhere where the e-peens are bigger.

The Mayans never accounted for leap years and if we were to remove all the leap years since Caesar created them, our date today would be somewhere in 2013 and the world should have ended several months ago.

brother19 wrote on Mar 5, 2012, 09:59:When I make chili I combine dry spices in a cast iron pan, with a small amount of oil, and sear them a little bit. Brings out the flavor.

Yup. It's called "blooming." Like you said, you can really taste the difference. I bloom some dried anchos and chipotles (but without any oil) then grind them into powder. My chili powder is 8 tbsp whole cumin seed, 8 tbsp oregano, 4 tbsp paprika and a tsp of cayenne. Bloom them in the skillet for a minute or two then into a coffee grinder to make the powder. I don't make texas-style chili but I'm going to give Blue's recipe a try real soon. Better than any cook book I'm guessing with all the tweaks he's discovered.